In two weeks, well more like a week and a half time, if all goes to plan, I should be playing my first game of Paranoia as the GM.
But before I go any further I need to say the following.
SPOILER ALERT TO Troubleshooters! The following part of the post contains spoilers for the up and coming one shot. You may want to avoid this part of the post and join me in a future one.
For this one shot session I’ll be running the introductory adventure [YOUR SECURITY CLEARANCE IS NOT HIGH ENOUGH FOR THE TITLE OF THIS ADVENTURE] from the Mission book that makes up my copy of the Ultraviolet edition of the Paranoia RPG Kickstarter I backed.
Part of my prep for the one shot will be to rewatch the MCDM YouTube video of them playing the introductory adventure.
MCDM plays Paranoia
Followed by rereading the adventure itself.
I have read the adventure.
But it was many moons ago.
The one thing I will say about it (from memory) was how “friendly” it was towards new GMs. It really does hold your hands and talks you through the rules at the appropriate spots. I really do wish other systems had something like this. However will I feel this way about the adventure once I’ve run it in anger?
The adventures woke up to find a note left for them by Adel, asking them to investigate strange goings on at a villa in the Second Rise district.
So led by Vas they made their way to the exclusive part of the City of Arches. The party stopped and asked a member of the Silver Talons (a private mercenary security force employed by the residents of the Second Rise) for directions.
Once at the villa the party made their way in, discovering foot prints in the hallway. Following the foot prints led them to a trap door.
Upon descending into the cellar the party is attacked by a mummy. After an epic battle they needed a rest to recover.
After an uneventful rest the party discovered they had been in a room next to some skeletons. Which they soon dispatched. During the brief combat a secret room was revealed.
Inside the secret room these dark figures attacked the group. Only to be repelled by Jeb, forcing the group to grab and thing not nailed down and run.
Back on the ground floor the group started exploring the rest of the house.
And that is where we left the party.
Post Mortem
And here is the necessary bit to tell my players to basically stop, and go do something less boring. Otherwise their future fun might be ruined.
SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following part of the post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this part of the post and join me in a future one.
It was requested that we use two of the bigger tables for our D&D session. Which I’m glad we did. It gave me and the players more space to spread out.
Before the session started I made some quick last minute notes based on the Lazy DM Workbook (page 7, Quick Encounter Building) about how many of each creature I could use in an encounter. I’m glad I did this. Otherwise I might have thrown all 4 mummy minis at the party!
I again started the session with inspiration being given to the players. I think it worked reasonably well again.
My session 4 notes
Wow the mummy nearly took out the party by itself. Although to be fair I was willing on the party to defeat it. I did have to bite my tongue during the combat. They had identified how to do lots of damage to the mummy using a torch they had dropped into the cellar. But no-one picked it up and used it. Lizzy even suggested it a couple of times during the combat. I just wanted to say “just listen to Lizzy”.
The encounter with two shadows was over very quickly with the cleric successfully using turn undead on them. But this will not be the last time they will encounter shadows. And there will be no turn undead to get them out of the tight spot!
I’m glad I printed out the maps from Ghosts of Saltmarsh and it’s version of the The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh adventure. It made keeping the room descriptions and map together a lot easier for referencing during the session.
One thing I need to look up is how to handle information about a creature like if a player asks “is it undead?” I provided the information this session but should I be?
I do need to go through the adventure and make a note of everything found and likely to be found by the party.
The following is for a small, select group of people. For everyone else just ignore it and read on if so inclined.
SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign/session. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.
After searching Dyson Logos for a suitable haunted house map I narrowed it down to one, his Blackhall Haunt map. However there was a nagging feeling I was making a compromise somehow.
I then looked at the map for the Witch Cat Inn from the introductory adventure The Dance of Dreams in the Vaesen core rule book. I felt happier about the map. Maybe because it was a multi level building. I could definitely make it work plot/story wise.
For some reason I decided to do one final image search and my results took me to the haunted house map in The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. Wait I have that map already! I have the adventure twice in fact. I have the DriveThruRPG 1e printing, and it’s in the 5e Ghosts of Saltmarsh. How did I not remember this?
The haunted house map in The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh needs to be annotated with where the planned monsters are located. What makes sense story, location wise on the map.
I’ll be adding the two monsters of giant weasels, and giant poisonous snakes, that the The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh has hidden outside the house to the possible encounters for the party. I hadn’t planned on having anything happen before the party enter the house. But this seems a good (ok good may not be the right word here) little surprise for them.
I finished the note that will be given to the players at the start of the session. Which is basically the plot hook for the session.
The finished note
Whilst I was on the page with the Blackhall Haunt map on it, there was a second map also, which did inspire me. The map was called Prior’s Hill. Truth be told I can see myself using this with either group (once the other groups sessions start up again).
Prior’s Hill map by Dyson Logos (link above)
“On the right nights, with the right rituals, you can open the portal on Prior’s Hill and climb down the stairs to the black dungeons below.” Or with the right relic I’m thinking. Maybe Adel already has that relic and needs the adventurers to go retrieve another more powerful and dangerous relic for her.
After listening to a recent Tomb Show podcast where they started going chapter by chapter through Izirion’s Enchiridion of the West Marches, I ordered a physical copy of the book.
I’m not sure where the practice of putting in a thematic disclaimer came from. But I know WotC do it with their books. This one continues the trend with one I found funny, and a very true warning. I may use it as small print on a note from Adel at some point.
Izirion’s Enchiridion of the West Marches Disclaimer
Ever since way back when I watched the Matt Colville video on West Marches I thought they sounded pretty cool. And most definitely thought I’d like to run one.
Maybe with two groups, and interest from others I could finally run a West Marches campaign.
But until that day arrives I’m pretty sure there is stuff in here I can make use of in both campaigns.
Right I have some miniatures to finish painting before this Saturday’s session. Laters.
Hey if you are part of the adventuring party and don’t heed the following warning. Just don’t blame me for any disappointment from knowing too much!
SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.
This should be a very short post. A bit like the previous one really.
I actually had a moment of madness this morning and primed the new minis that arrived the other day. Plus also the four new minis I picked up last night from Colin at club night.
I now have four mummies. So super chuffed about that. Plus a mystery mini that inspired me when I was shown it.
I’m not sure what or who this humanoid is, but I think they will be the owner of the haunted house. Possessed probably and extremely dangerous with that meat cleaver(?).
The shadows I’ll finish first. They will get a dry brush finish similar to the one I did on the Alien figures to give them some highlights.
After that it’s a little research into how to paint mummies!
To whom it may concern, the following is for you. If you decide to ignore those words then so be it. But your enjoyment of the next D&D session is liable to be diminished. Even spoiled for want of a better word.
SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.
The gap between session 3 and 4 has been increased to 4 weeks! Mainly due to a little confusion about when the next session will be.
However that’s given me time to do very little except order some miniatures! Which arrived today.
As you can see these were mentioned in the previous post for the haunted house idea. I’ve not been able to find any mummies, or ones I like. I already have zombies, and oozes. Not been able to find any giant bats or swarm of bats miniatures that are in stock or affordable! Etsy is so flippin expensive, especially the postage.
That’s one thing that doesn’t get mentioned about being a DM, the cost. Between printing out stuff at the library (cheaper than buying ink cartridges for my printer, that just acts as a scanner these days), miniatures, books, and various accessories. The cost mounts up.
Granted much of that stuff isn’t needed to play the game. However some of it does make life easier whilst running the game.
Cost is one of the factors in why I’m moving to using a battle map with the room drawn on it, odd bits of scatter terrain, and minis. It’s also quicker to setup during the session.
You hope that the players appreciate the efforts that go on behind the scenes to give them a fun time.
Now I have to get motivated into painting those minis. Especially the shadows.
Let the following warning/disclaimer be said. Then be it on your head if you ignore it.
SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.
We have broke the fortnightly session routine already. But that’s on me. Instead of D&D I’d arranged an open gaming session that coincides with the celebration of achieving a 54th year on this Earth. So we will be having our next session the following weekend. A three week gap.
The start of the session will see the party waking up to a note from Adel sending them off on a hunt for another relic.
I knew I had some parchment images from a patreon I had backed a while back. Luckily I had them on my iCloud and was able to find them.
Below you will see my initial version of the note to check I have the look and feel right. I used the Dreaming Outloud Script Pro font within MS Word on the iPad to give me that hand written feel to the note.
Initial test of note for session
Naturally I’ll share on here the final note with all the plot hooks for the session once it’s completed.
As for what the party will be doing in the session I have the germ of an idea.
Obviously I’m going to be running with the overall theme based around Warehouse 13/Friday the 13th the series/Relics & Rarities/The Librarians.
However they still need that relic/artefact of the week to go retrieve.
But that could get boring/repetitive so I plan to break up that formula with the Stargate SG-1/Time Tunnel inspired style session with the party visiting another plane via the arches in the city. I might also throw in the odd Star Trek Deep Space 9/Babylon 5 style alien visitor to the City of Arches plot line.
I have the really inspiring tables from the Lazy DM Companion Hunt for the Relic page, and the City of Arches adventure generator pages, to help generate ideas for the session. The tables Sly Flourish provides generate some really great names for items. I’ve used them for naming the magic items the players have received already.
Over the last couple of days I’ve been mulling over setting the session in a haunted house. A ghost might be too difficult for the group to take on but shadows aren’t (must rewatch the dungeon dudes to see what they have to say about them). Plus I can throw in mummies, werewolves, the odd giant bat, have oozes oozing out of the walls. You get the idea.
I might after this artefact has been retrieved start to drop hints about a big bad. There needs to be that big bad. But I have “time” to think about that.
Now the red dragon wyrmling, who I named Littleflight, may or may not have something to do with that big bad. I need to sleep on this idea.
Anyway that’s where I am currently on my planning.
Tantalos finally noticed Babs looked a bit worse for wear after the recent run ins with the inhabitants of the sewer aided in healing her a little. After reminding the party how to find their way out back to the Lower Reaches, they parted way with each other.
On their way back through the sewers towards the Lower Reaches Babs discovered a hidden tunnel, that upon following lead them into a kobold ambush.
After hacking away a few of the attacking kobolds the party decided to double back on themselves back to the sewers.
There they set off a shrieker whose spine tingling, ear hurting shriek attracted a smaller band of kobolds. Which attacked as soon as they saw the party.
The skirmish ended with the untimely death of the kobolds. After which the party made their way out of the sewers into the lower reaches.
Vaz then guided them to Adel’s Emporium of Magical Relics.
We left the party resting in the accommodation that Adel had arranged for them (at a cost).
Post Mortem
Before we start the post mortem of the session I do need to do that little bit of house keeping to warn any of my players.
SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following part of the post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this part of the post and join me in a future one.
It was another fun session. I am enjoying being a DM with this group. Friendships are starting to happen.
I started the session trying a suggestion from Quick Tricks For Lazy DMs page of The Lazy DM Companion of giving each player inspiration. It’s something I want to use more. I hadn’t used it at all with the other group. Which makes last sessions use the first time I’d used it in anger. I think it worked well. All of the players used it.
My Way of the Lazy DM Session Notes
Player: “I rolled a 19.”
Me: “What are you rolling for?”
Player: “I’m going to steal the healing potion from…”
With the agreement of the player it was going to affect I had them both roll to see if the theft was successful. Luckily for the enthusiastic player the other one rolled low.
But I wasn’t very chuffed with the initial player rolling and assuming the high roll allowed them to do what they wanted to do. Especially when it broke the line in the sand I discussed with them in the session zero. I appreciate the enthusiasm of the player. But they need to remember the DM tells them if a roll is needed or not.
I do need to keep better tracking of the items given out to players. I’d forgotten I’d already given out the fey amulet in the previous session. Which Liz pointed out when I gave a second to Babs! Oops.
A6 sized gridded index cards were used for drawing out the map of the sewers as the players navigated their way out. This worked better I thought than the small white boards I used in the previous session.
I used a combat map (from the big book of Battle Maps) with a very rough sketch of the current location for when we were in combat. Which happened twice in this session. I like the simplicity of this. Which can be enhanced with scatter terrain (if appropriate). I think it went well and for the time being will be my preferred way to run combat.
It’s the morning (6:30am as I’m writing this) of the planned session and I nearly forgot to say the following.
SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.
With that bit of housekeeping out the way I can safely now share my last minute brainwaves for the session that I’ve had.
The main bit of inspiration I had was around the treasure that hasn’t been found yet.
If you check my notes in the post mortem for the previous session there is the equivalent of 400 gold pieces somewhere in the sewers. Plus two magical items.
One of the magical items has been lost and they will stumble across it easily enough early in the session.
But what about the rest?
The loot mentioned above has to be somewhere. It’s from the victims of the giant spider (deceased) and the giant crocodile (sleeping).
I wanted a creature that hordes loot, even shiny stuff.
Kobolds.
Yep I’m going with a classic D&D creature that low level parties tend to come up against.
This group of kobolds have found a wyrmling and have been venturing into the sewers to collect the gold from the victims to grow the wyrmlings hoard.
This also presents an interesting situation for the party. “…kobolds are bitterly hateful toward gnomes.” Volo’s Guide to Monsters, page 65.
50% of the party cause intense feelings of hatred in kobolds!
I think my caption for the above photo (taken from the last session) sums up the problem they will face with the kobolds.
Which makes negotiations with the kobolds that tad more trickier, nah impossible I’d say.
If things did go awry or tits up as I like to say with the kobolds. Then Volo’s offers the following advice for combat (same page as the above quote).
“Although they usually don’t seek out gnomes to do them violence, if hostile kobolds encounter a mixed group of gnomes and other humanoids, the kobolds instinctively attack the gnomes. Kobolds in battle with gnomes are much less likely to run away because their hatred overrules their sense of self-preservation.”
I think one of the secret doors on the sewer map will lead to the liar the kobolds have been tunnelling for the wyrmling.
I’m going for a red wyrmling as that gives me that pokemon charmander vibe.
Now to dive quickly into Fizban’s for some last minute game breaking ideas!
Will the party ever leave the sewers and meet Adel?
I decided to do a short video of me looking through my DM folder for this second campaign. Someone might find it interesting. Maybe, and it’s a long shot, useful.
I have the following on the video, and YouTube page description. It has to be said.
SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.
Oh and one more thing it’s what’s in the folder at this moment in time. My DM folder is a living thing! It’s contents will change. It will grow with me as the campaign develops.
SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.
Right if any of my group 2 adventures are still reading then it’s on you if the following spoils your sense of wonder and surprise in our next session. I did warn you to stop reading.
I’ve updated my Checks Sheet with the hand written notes you may have noticed in the photos on the session 2 post mortem. Which has also been printed and added to my DM folder. The original aim of this sheet was to be a quick reference for various ability checks. So if anyone wants this as a pdf let me know and I’ll send them a copy.
My Updated Checks Sheet for D&D
I have also printed out the following since I was at the library already printing out the Checks Sheet.
Side view map of City of Arches A3
City of Arches Core Adventure Generator A4
Dyson Logos version of Caves of Chaos map A3
I held off the new location descriptions because in the next update there are some corrections coming apparently so I saved my money until then.
That’s all practical stuff for running the next session or prepping for it. But what about ideas for the next session?
I don’t know who or why yet. However in the next session the group will be learning from Adel that some-one has been collecting magical relics, beating her agents to them, and in some cases killing her agent.
Adel will have arranged some accommodation for the party within the Lower Reaches. Naturally the payment for this will be deducted from any reward she was going to give the party.
I still need to dig out my Pathfinder npc cards and find a suitable one for Adel.
Plus what are the adventurers going to do after they have long rested?
